- [Instructor] Social media is a two-way conversation.
That's one of the best things
about it and also one of the scariest
because you never know when something will go wrong.
When it's done well,
social media can humanize your small business
and create a bond with our customers.
But what happens if one of your employees
takes that casual tone too far
with your best customer
and the fallout happens in public?
This underscores the importance
of having a social media policy
and communicating it clearly to your staff.
Your social media policy offers a code of conduct
for the way your company will behave online.
It also sets the tone
for your business's culture and online persona.
For example, are you going to be serious and helpful,
funny, critical, hard-edged?
It starts internally,
with the things you and your team members are saying,
and then it extends outward,
by the delineating the acceptable tone and language
for all your company's online properties,
including your blog or website,
social media channels, and customer forum.
As you develop your social media policy,
it's important to keep it straightforward
and easy to understand.
Some of the points you want to cover
include acceptable behavior and language
in your community,
the importance of treating people with respect,
accepting responsibility, honesty, transparency,
community standards, and disclosure.
Be clear about whether or not you moderate comments
and what the criteria is for removing them.
For example, if you get a critical comment
on your Facebook page, you should acknowledge it.
Let people know what you'll do better next time
and thank them for the feedback.
Never get defensive or pick a fight.
But if someone's comments are abusive
or filled with inappropriate language,
that's when it's usually okay to delete them.
At some point, you'll want to run your social media policy
by your lawyer to make sure you're not saying anything
that can get you into trouble.
But don't let your lawyer turn the house rules
into hard-to-understand legalese.
A startup in Toronto got kudos from their users
for translating their terms of service
into plain English.
They use two headings,
Description of Service and Basically, or what that means.
The point is to write your social media policy
so your staff and community can understand it.
Dell Computer's policy is clear and transparent.
It's based on five common-sense principles,
and the last one particularly stood out for me.
Be nice, have fun, and connect.
Now that's good advice for everyone.